Keynote speakers - EuropaCat2025
Keynote speakers
We are happy to announce confirmed keynote speakers for EuropaCat 2025:
Ning Yan
Professor and director at Centre for Hydrogen Innovations, National University of Singapore, China
His research focuses on catalyst design, green energy as CO2 conversion and ammonia decomposition, as well as waste refinery and utilization, and preparation of renewable nitrogen-containing compounds.
Title of lecture: TBA
Jacinto Sá
Professor at Uppsala University, Sweden
His research group focuses on the development of heterogeneous photo-electro-catalysis based on plasmonics. Building on advanced ultrafast characterization methods, the group is developing unique systems for applications ranging from artificial photosynthesis to photoredox catalysis.
Title of lecture: Leveraging plasmonics unique photophysics to make molecules
Anna Chrobok
Professor at Silesian University of Technology, Poland
Her research group focuses on the development of sustainable processes for fine chemicals production; designing of heterogeneous and homogeneous (bio)catalysts; the design, characterization and application of functional ionic liquids for green synthesis.
Title of lecture: A generic approach to tailoring catalysts for industrially-relevant reactions: From acidic to enzymatic catalysis
Tapio Salmi
Professor at Åbo Akademi, Finland
His research theme concerns the development of wood-derived raw materials to replace oil-based fuels. His research questions focus on the modelling and optimisation of chemical reactions, in particular catalytic reactions.
Title of lecture: The impact of chemical reaction engineering on the catalytic transformation of biomass to valuable chemicals
The recipient of EFCATS Applied Catalysis Award 2025
EFCATS Applied Catalysis Award sponsored by BP aims to recognize individuals with excellence in scientific novelty, technical achievements in development and scale-up, interdisciplinary teamwork between scientists and engineers. The recipient will be announced in spring 2025.
Title of lecture: TBA
Thomas Schaub
Designated Senior Principal Scientist and Lab Head of Catalysis Research Laboratory, BASF Germany, and Honorary Professor at University of St. Andrews, Scotland
His research interests are within process development using homogeneous catalysis on hydrogenations, aminations, acceptorless dehydrogenations, oligomerisations, carbonylations; use of CO2 as building block; efficient use of renewables as building blocks in organic synthesis; ChemCycling; organometallic synthesis; mechanistic investigations on homogeneous catalyzed reactions, and high pressure chemistry.
Title of lecture: TBA
Alessandra Beretta
Professor at Politecnico di Milano, Italy
Her research deals with the study of catalytic processes in the fields of energy conversion and environmental protection, with focus on kinetics and reactor design. The research topics include the production of H2 and syngas by CPO, SR, cracking of fossil and renewable fuels and H-carriers, the electrification of catalytic processes, the thermochemical conversion of biomass, the Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOX by NH3.
Title of lecture: TBA
Edd Anders Blekkan
Professor and head of the Catalysis group at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway
His research covers many aspects of heterogeneous catalysis and related technologies applied to energy conversion e.g. gas cleaning, natural gas conversion, as well as biomass and CO2 conversion.
Title of lecture: TBA
Jakob Kibsgaard
Professor and head of section for Surface Physics and Catalysis at DTU, Denmark
His research focuses on developing and understanding catalysts for transforming sustainable energy into fuels and chemicals. He is using electron microscopy to correlate the atomic structure of a nanoparticle with its catalytic properties and aims at accelerating the development of scalable Power-to-X materials.
Title of lecture: TBA
The recipient of EFCATS Young Researcher Award 2025
The EFCATS Young Researcher Award sponsored by BASF recognizes individual contributions in the field of catalysis with emphasis on theoretical or experimental discovery and understanding of new catalysts and catalytic processes. The recipient will be announced in spring 2025.
Title of lecture: TBA